BEA: Making nice

“The mood’s fairly positive this year,” an agent and veteran BEA goers told me. “But if anything, looking around will convince you that we’re publishing too many books.”

There was Scott Martin autographing his book, “The Book of Caddyshack: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Greatest Movie Ever Made.” The author told me he had watched the movie more than 400 times while doing his research and spent more than a year writing it. Of course, he found time to play golf and he said he plays to a 9 handicap.

Donald Seitz(Photograph by Paul Grondahl)

There was also a seemingly endless array of self-published authors convinced their book had the stuff to break through and become a best-seller. Consider Donald Seitz, author of the slim photo volume, “The Great American Book of Church Signs.” Seitz invested his savings to produce the book, which involved traveling 30,000 miles over the course of three years to take snapshots of corny, preachy and occasionally inspirational messages on reader boards in front of churches.

A few examples: “Where will you be spending eternity? Smoking or Non-smoking?”
“A sharp tongue and a dull mind are usually found in the same head.”
“Tithe if you love Jesus. Anyone can honk.”

Seitz expressed confidence that his book will strike a chord and be huge. Just give it time, he said, as he sat, without any customers, in his homemade booth near the exit.